


Chikara

by HangonIknowthisone



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, could be sasuke/naruto if you want it to be, light on the dialogue, more of a character study thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 19:56:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17566982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HangonIknowthisone/pseuds/HangonIknowthisone
Summary: Power was always something tangible, yet out of reach, for him. Throughout his life he’d raced to obtain it, desperate for the comfort it would and reassurance that his goals were finally within his grasp that it would bring. He’d thought himself the best within his peers – his lineage practically guaranteed that it was so.





	Chikara

Power was always something tangible, yet out of reach, for him. Throughout his life he’d raced to obtain it, desperate for the comfort it would bring and the reassurance that his goals were finally within his grasp. He’d thought himself the best within his peers – his lineage practically guaranteed that it was so.

He had built up a pedestal for himself that was only raised further by those that admired him. He was untouchable to most and he’d convinced himself that it was what he wanted,; that it was for the best.

Truthfully though, life at the top was lonely. He had no one – he was absolutely alone. Sure, there were his admirers or ‘fans’, but they tended to grate on his nerves; they didn’t understand a thing about him. No one did – and he didn’t let them. He’d grown so accustomed to his solitary bubble that the thought of anyone breaching it caused chills to erupt down his spine.

He hadn’t always been so alone. Once he’d had family, and quite a large one at that. They had loved him (in their own way) and he, them. But there was no one that he revered quite as much as his brother. His older brother was everything that he aspired to be – he was a child prodigy and seemed older than his years; he had always had an answer to every question posed to him and could hold his own and more among his elder peers. Despite knowing that he was living in the shadow cast by his brother, his love for him never wavered. His brother and his family were everything to him; they were his clan, his _home_.

And then, in one bloody night, they were gone, and standing in their place was a twisted perversion of the brother he’d loved and trusted more than anything. He doubted any pain could rival the pain he felt in that moment and forever afterwards; it was agonizing. Looking into the eyes of his most precious person and seeing nothing but pain and contempt tore into his very core. It ripped away everything he’d ever known. Shattered every belief he’d built until he felt hollow.

So he sheltered himself. Built up masks that he swore no one would crack and redesigned his purpose in life – **power.** To gain the power to obliterate the monster posing as his brother and revive his clan. To grow strong, stronger than He ever was.

He never allowed himself to waver from his goals, not once, not for anything. There was nothing to hold him back from doing anything and everything he could in his quest for power.

* * *

 

 Power wasn’t something he really thought about accept for in his darkest moments. When things got so bad and the scorn of his peers dug right down deep into him, only then did he wish for it – the power to rid himself of them and their hurtful words. They called him monster, **demon.** The only thing that held him back was the desire to prove them wrong. He couldn’t be a demon. He’d never done anything to warrant that title.

And yet their words still hurt, still made him doubt. Did he really not deserve their ire?

It had always been this way, for as long as he could remember. He had always been alone, never having the luxury of a ‘welcome home!’ or a meal with people he loved and who loved him in return.

And so he was left to nurse his wounds on his own. He had to patch himself up, both physically and emotionally, every time. What was worse though, the villagers knew. They knew how alone he was, that he had no one to help him, no one to stick up for him when times got rough. This didn’t deter them, however; they seemed to think that he deserved his solitary life.

They thought him a demon so they didn’t believe that anything they did hurt; how could mere humans harm a demon? Surely it didn’t feel as they did.

So they never knew. Never knew that he spent most of his nights cold and crying himself to sleep, so utterly alone that it cut into him.

There was only one other person he’d seen that seemed as lonely as he was. In the moment he’d seen him the shroud of loneliness hanging over the other had stunned him as it rivaled his own. And yet, whenever he saw him again, he seemed completely different – not happy but determined to not let his loneliness show. It was clear to him that he’d witnessed a rare moment and he felt privileged to have seen it.

And so he too refused to let others see that they got to him. He built up masks that he swore no one would crack and redesigned his purpose in life – to be acknowledged for who he truly was by everyone. To be seen as good. He _needed_ to know that he wasn’t evil – needed confirmation, validation. Needed to not feel alone anymore.

He knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He was the dead-last in his class and to be truly acknowledged he needed to do better. He needed to be the best.

**They needed to be the best.**

They’d both sworn that no one would break through their masks, that they’d let absolutely no one get to them. And yet …

 

* * *

 

They were opposites, entirely different. And yet they worked (somewhat). The sunny disposition lit up the stoic darkness and the lonely mist enveloped and dug deep into the bright flame.

They hated each other for it.

They each refused to acknowledge how deep the other managed to reach; they thought that they could handle it.

But every time an opportunity arose to rid themselves of the other they never took it. Because, and they’d never admit it aloud, they needed each other. It was a terrifying truth that neither fully realised for a while.

They’d become a (slightly reluctant) team and they _worked._ What one lacked the other held in abundance. They’d become enmeshed – two powerful sparks of energy that fueled and bettered the other. A perfect representation of yin and yang. They operated so seamlessly together and it took their breath away with how much they **loved** it. They were an incomparable duo.

Until they were ripped apart from the inside.

 

* * *

 

 Sasuke had sworn that the pain he had felt staring into the monstrous eyes of his brother, surrounded by his parents’ blood, was the worst pain he would ever feel. He wanted to laugh at how wrong he was.

This was a new, fresh kind of pain that tug at old wounds and reached even deeper. He’d thought it impossible. And yet, as he kneeled in the rain with his perfect counterpart lying beneath him, worn out and unconscious, he felt the beginnings of a deep ache within his chest that grew deeper and spread the longer he knelt there. It took his breath away and he scrambled to catch it again. This pain was completely different but heart-wrenchingly similar to the pain he’d felt that night so many years ago. It was a struggle to try and gauge which was worse, until he realised that this time it was his fault and he had to live with that knowledge. The knowledge of what he was leaving behind. It was an ache that he’d come to carry with him every day.

Despite the bitter spike of pain and sadness he felt lancing through his chest, however, there was a dark and splintered part of him that thought this was what he needed – what he deserved. He couldn’t gain the power he required as part of a duo. He had to be alone again, to sever all ties; to do whatever it took.

To fully cut off this tie with no possibility of reforming it he’d have to get rid of Him. The one and only light he had left in his life. Even the mere thought brought him to near convulsions, the pain was so great. Just the thought that that bright spark could be snuffed out was too much for him; he couldn’t possibly …

He scoffed at himself, enraged that he’d allowed himself to become this weak. Sentiment was a luxury that he couldn’t afford. He had to be able to do whatever it took even if – even if it meant the death of the only person that he had left.

Just thinking the words wasn’t enough, but he knew he couldn’t possibly bring himself to do it.

So he left. And each step was excruciating.

 

* * *

 

Waking up knowing what he’d let slip through his fingers was the worst experience of his life. The abuse he’d suffered at the hands of the villagers didn’t even compare. Where once there was a solid energy, sad and powerful and so wonderfully compatible with his own, now there was only a gaping, hollow space.

It hurt.

It hurt because it wasn’t supposed to be empty. It was supposed to be full and there for him when he needed it. Sure, the boy it belonged to was a sullen bastard but he was everything that Naruto needed.

So, once again, he redesigned his purpose – he would bring Sasuke back home, kicking and screaming if he had to. He wouldn’t allow him to break their bond; it was the most meaningful attachment he’d ever been able to form and he’d be damned if he let it wither and die.

Others thought that his renewed determination was due to his supposed need to keep his promise to Sakura. They had never looked deeper than the surface when it came to him and Sasuke, had perhaps not wanted to. But, for once, he didn’t care for the thoughts of others; he just wanted his other half, his _friend,_ back and the hole he’d left behind to be filled. He wanted to be happy, no lies and no facades; he’d do whatever it took, no matter how selfish it may seem.

 

* * *

 

 Over the years they’d encountered each other multiple times. And every time it was like a breath of fresh air. The absolute euphoria of their other half finally there, safe and in reach and **real** was astounding. They never let it show outwardly but they could see it in each other. Naruto could tell that the almost imperceptible twitch of Sasuke’s lips was his version of a smile and, while to everyone else they seemed dark and cruel, his eyes showed how very relieved he was.

In turn, Sasuke knew that behind the bright, false (obnoxious) grin Naruto gave to everyone else was a real smile – soft and hesitant and **_his._** And the brief but quick succession of blinking was Naruto’s way of holding back his own expression of relief.

It was heartening to them both that they could still read each other so well, that they were still in sync. Whenever these encounters occurred they only had eyes for each other; nothing else could be registered by them.

But it never lasted. Sasuke was still stubborn in his need for more power and it in equal parts infuriated Naruto, because why couldn’t he see that they could achieve anything together twice as fast, and relieved him to know that he hadn’t changed.

Then again, Naruto was equally as stubborn. While the sight of Sasuke walking away from him hurt every time he saw it, it never dampened his resolve. If anything it just made him more determined to never have to stare at Sasuke’s back, to put himself on equal footing with him and stand side-by-side once again.

 

* * *

 

It was war.

They had already lost so much to Madara and Obito and he was struggling to keep up. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t an idiot. He knew that determination alone wasn’t enough to win and keep everyone he loved safe.

The loss of Neji was a stark reminder of this and stung in his chest; the grief worsened whenever he caught sight of Hinata in his periphery.

To go from having no one, and therefore nothing, to lose, to suddenly having so much to lose … it was hard to adjust to. The realisation had all but slapped him in the face with the near-loss of Gaara well before the war, and it hung like heavy shroud around him now.

It was inevitable that there would be losses, nut knowing that didn’t make him anymore ready to accept it.

He was semi-drained already and they were still no closer to beating their adversaries. He was finding it difficult to keep hold of that fire-lit determination that he was mostly known for, could feel it start to sputter and dim – to trickle through his fingers like sand in an hourglass. Exhaustion threatened to overtake him and the only thing that kept him going physically was the steady stream of healing chakra being pushed into him by Sakura.

And yet, the moment Sasuke landed in front of him, the ever-familiar Uchiha crest staring at him, he couldn’t help but feel as if they’d already won.

For once, the sight of Sasuke’s back didn’t hurt. It _burned_ through him, cauterizing any doubt he had as to the outcome. Because he knew that together they’d manage. It was obvious to him, an irrefutable fact.

And, regardless of the fact that just mere moments before he had been running on fumes, he’s never felt more energized, more **alive.**

 

* * *

 

The feeling of that oh-so-familiar chakra so close to him after all this time soothed the ever-present ache residing within him. He didn’t know how  he could have ever possibly lived without this. Just standing nearer to him than he had in years was enough to calm old wounds. Knowing that they were once again fighting on the same side sent a curl of happiness, bright and warm, through him and he twisted in place slightly to finally look at him.

Even bruised and exhausted he still shone brighter than anyone he’d ever met. Just being in his presence managed to crack his carefully crafted masks, letting slip a small smile that Naruto returned ten-fold. He turned back to survey the battle before him and (inwardly) delighted at feeling that warmth finally gracing his side again.

 

* * *

 

 They leapt forward in tandem, simultaneously and non-verbally ascertaining their next moves. Their attacks were swift and brutal, delivered with deadly accuracy and blunt force. Together, they made their fight look like a dance as they spun and darted around each other. To know that, after all this time and with how much they had both changed, they could still fight so seamlessly together was almost overwhelming to them both. The relief was so sharp it stung, but the pain was so very welcome.

No one had seen them happier, weaving back and forth from enemy to enemy with matching grins on their faces. Indeed, the sight of Sasuke expressing so much emotion was practically unheard of. But it looked _right,_ to see the bright flash of Naruto’s flame-esque chakra cloak and swirling blue Rasengan combined with Sasuke’s purple chakra and sparking Chidori.

It was a sight many thought they’d never see again, too used to seeing the attacks aimed at each other. But combined, they became an unstoppable force that bulldozed their way through the enemy hordes.

They were two halves finally coming together to make one powerful whole.

**Author's Note:**

> So this was something that I dug out of a cupboard last night and decided to dust off :)  
> I realise that I've written 'And yet' so many times that you could make a drinking game out of it, and I'm sorry, but deal with it :)


End file.
